Flat needle-punched non woven of natural and/or synthetic fibers

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a flat needle-punched non woven of natural and/or synthetic fibers having a weight per unit area within a range of from 200 to 1600 g/m 2 , characterized in that one tenth to one hundredth of at least one of the two main surfaces has a surface coating in the form of a pattern.

The invention relates to a flat needle-punched non woven of naturaland/or synthetic fibers.

DE 41 14 140 A1 relates to textile sheets in which the bonding of thefibers is effected through thermoplastic polyamides. An advantage of thetextile sheets is their suitability for being reutilized after use. Inaddition, advantages previously made up with in the preparation of thetextile sheets, offensive smells and undesirable decomposition productsare excluded.

DE 43 05 428 C1 describes a floor covering formed from a flat fleecewhich has burls like islands integrally with the underside which burlsconsist of a multiplicity of individual fibers. On its upper side, thefloor covering preferably has a structure. The structures of both sidesare formed by needling. When the floor covering is laid, the burls cometo lie on the underfloor covering. This forms a channel system on theunderside of the floor covering which favors the drainage of water. Athus designed floor covering is preferably employed outdoors, forexample, as a tennis court covering, wherein granules can be introducedinto the indentations on the upper side.

DE 44 44 030 A1 describes a floor covering, especially for tenniscourts. It consists of a carpet-like base covering and a non-slipscattering provided on top thereof and consisting of separate looseparticles. The particles of the non-slip scattering are respectivelyextruded from a plastic material with an essentially definedcross-sectional shape and length, wherein the length is respectively atleast approximately equal to a particle width or height running aboutmidway through the cross-section.

DE 198 12 925 A1 describes three-dimensional, dimensionally stablemolded parts based on structured needle-punched non wovens. Theneedle-punched non wovens of thermoplastic fibers with a first layer ofa mixture of polypropylene (PP) fibers and polyethylene (PE) fibers anda second and optionally further layers of a mixture of PP fibers and PEfibers is prepared from bicomponent fibers consisting of a mixture of PPand PE, or from a mixture of these bicomponent fibers and PP fibersand/or PE fibers, wherein the two layers are bonded and interconnectedby both needle-punching and molten or fused fibers or fiber portions ofthe PE fraction of the two layers.

In contrast, the object of the present invention is to provide a novelflat needle-punched non woven of natural and/or synthetic fibers havinga pronounced non-slip effect on the upper side of the needle-punched nonwoven.

In a first embodiment, the above mentioned object is achieved by a flatneedle-punched non woven of natural and/or synthetic fibers having aweight per unit area within a range of from 200 to 1600 g/m²,characterized in that one tenth to one hundredth of at least one of thetwo main surfaces has a surface coating in the form of a pattern.

The needle-punched non wovens according to the invention are much lessexpensive than previously known textile sheets, i.e., usual carpets.This not only holds for means of transport, but also for real estateobjects and free spaces, such as sports grounds. Especially wheninexpensive fibers are used, it is possible by means of the presentinvention to prepare a particularly inexpensive covering.

High needle-punched non wovens (dilours) are not suitable for thepresent invention because they fail to sufficiently achieve aninsufficient bonding of the surface coating in the form of a pattern.

In a particular embodiment of the present invention, the base materialof the non woven comprises polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE),polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and/or polyamide (PA), essentially in afibrous form. Alternatively, it is of course also possible to employvegetable fibers instead of the synthetic fibers.

Of course, optionally, mixtures of natural fibers and synthetic fibersmay also be employed.

Natural fibers within the meaning of the present invention are generallydefined as natural one-dimensional objects which can be processed into atextile. They may be obtained from vegetable parts, or form the coat ofhair of animals, or be obtained from cocoons of silkworms, or be ofmineral natural origin. The vegetable fibers may be seed fibers, forexample, cotton, fruit wall fibers, for example, kapok, bast fibers, forexample, flax, hemp and/or jute etc., or hard fibers, for example,sisal, coconut or the like.

It is particularly preferred according to the present invention for theweight per unit area of the flat needle-punched non wovens according tothe invention to be from 200 to 1000 g/m². In this case too, this is thetotal weight of the needle-punched non woven plus the surface coating.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, only one tenth toone fiftieth of at least one of the two main surfaces has a surfacecoating in the form of a pattern. Similarly, it is of course alsopossible to provide, not only one, but both main surfaces of theneedle-punched non woven with the desired surface coating.

The pattern of the surface coating can be geometrically distributed overone or both main surfaces. Alternatively, it is of course also possibleto limit the pattern to only partial areas of the main surfaces.

Preferred patterns within the meaning of the present invention includeburls, circles, lines and/or figures. Thus, it is possible, for example,to apply graphic ornaments, such as logos, to a needle-punched nonwoven.

An essential core of the present invention is the feature that thesurface coating protrudes above the main surface of the needle-punchednon woven. It is particularly preferred according to the presentinvention for the surface coating to protrude above the main surface by0.1 to 1 mm, especially by 0.1 to 0.5 mm.

In a preferred embodiment, it is essential according to the presentinvention that the surface coating extends to a depth of from 0.1 to 0.5mm, especially from 0.1 to 0.3 mm, of the main surface of theneedle-punched non woven.

The material of the surface coating can be selected from a wide varietyof categories. It is particularly preferred according to the presentinvention to select thermoplastic or thermosetting materials. As athermoplastic material, there may be used, for example, polypropylene(PP), polyethylene (PE), polyurethane (PUR), polyethylene terephthalate(PET), polyamide (PA), and/or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). As athermosetting material according to the present invention, polyurethaneis particularly preferred. The non-slip effect can be improved, forexample, by mineral additives. It is also possible to apply anelectrical conduction finishing to the surface coating, which issuitable for an antistatic effect (computer rooms) or alarm device.

The preparation of the needle-punched non woven according to theinvention is characterized, for example, in that a surface coating isapplied to or sprayed onto a flat needle-punched non woven in the formof a pattern using a roll according to per se known printing methods.The surface coating in the form of a pattern can be applied prior to orafter the densification of the needle-punched non woven. It isparticularly preferred according to the present invention to apply thesurface coating prior to a predensification of the needle-punched nonwoven. If this is performed prior to a predensification of theneedle-punched non woven, the penetrating depth of the surface coatinginto the needle-punched non woven is low.

In addition, it is also possible to introduce, for example, to pour, thesurface coating into prestamped indentations of the needle-punched nonwoven. Thus, optically planar needle-punched non wovens can be preparedwhich display their non-slip effect only when under the load of apressure.

It is particularly preferred according to the present invention toemploy the needle-punched non wovens as a floor covering, for example,in means of transport, especially motor vehicles, aircrafts, vessels andrailway wagons, and as a trunk lining in motor vehicles or real estateobjects, especially as a covering for sports grounds, for example,tennis courts.

1. A flat needle-punched non woven of natural and/or synthetic fibershaving a weight per unit area within a range of from 200 to 1600 g/m²,said needle-punched non-woven including first and second main surfaces,characterized in that at least one of the two main surfaces has asurface coating in the form of a pattern, wherein said pattern comprisesburls, circles, lines and/or figures, and wherein said surface coatingprotrudes above the main surface by an average of 0.1 to 1 mm, saidsurface coating extends to an average depth of from 0.1 to 0.5 mm of themain surface and said surface coating covers from one tenth to onehundredth of at least one of the two main surfaces.
 2. Theneedle-punched non woven according to claim 1, characterized in that thesynthetic fibers are selected from the group consisting ofpolypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide, andcombinations thereof.
 3. The needle-punched non woven according to claim1, characterized in that the natural fibers are vegetable fibers.
 4. Theneedle-punched non woven according to claim 3, characterized in thatsaid vegetable fibers are selected from seed fibers, fruit wall fibers,bast fibers, hemp, jute, hard fibers, coconut, or combinations thereof.5. The needle-punched non woven according to claim 1, characterized inthat said weight per unit area is from 200 to 1000 g/m².
 6. Theneedle-punched non woven claim 1, characterized in that one tenth to onefiftieth of at least one of the two main surfaces has a surface coatingin the form of a pattern.
 7. The needle-punched non woven accordingclaim 1, characterized in that said pattern of the surface coating isgeometrically distributed over at least a portion of a whole mainsurface.
 8. The needle-punched non woven according to claim 7,characterized in that said surface coating protrudes above the mainsurface by 0.1 to 0.5 mm.
 9. The needle-punched non woven according toclaim 8, characterized in that said surface coating extends to a depthof from 0.1 to 0.3 mm of the main surface.
 10. The needle-punched nonwoven according to claim 1, characterized in that the material of saidsurface coating comprises thermoplastic or thermosetting materials. 11.The needle-punched non woven according to claim 10, characterized inthat said thermoplastic material is selected from the group consistingof polypropylene, polyethylene, polyurethane, polyethyleneterephthalate, polyamide, polyvinyl chloride or combinations thereof.12. The needle-punched non woven according to claim 10, characterized inthat said thermosetting material comprises polyurethane.
 13. A methodfor the preparation of the needle-punched non woven according to claim1, characterized in that a surface coating is applied to a flatneedle-punched non woven in the form of a pattern using a roll, spray orcombination thereof.